Post #392368 by GatorRob on Tue, Jul 8, 2008 6:20 AM

Mango, welcome to central Florida. As has been said, Florida has a surprisingly large number of tikiphiles, although many have wandered away from TC. You'll be close enough to the Hawaiian Inn and Julian's, that you must do them at least once. As for MaiTiki in Cocoa, search TC for "Wayne Coombs" and you'll find plenty of hits. His studio is a must visit. Even though his most popular carving style is the toothy Florida tiki style, take a look at some of his other works, including his faux stone tikis and his paintings. And he's a real swell guy too. :)

Sven, the real Redneck Riviera is the northwest Florida panhandle. I know because I lived there for years and my family still does. It's a beautiful coast though. But where else could you sip a Mai-Tai in a Trader Vic's while listening to "Sweet Home Alabama"? It still holds true that the farther north you drive in Florida, the further south you get.